BLACK FOREST CRAFTSFEST CONTINUES TODAY

Amid the gunshots and clouds of smoke, a man who had been shot during a Civil War re-enactment arose to show his wounded arm to a group of children Saturday at the Black Forest Villages.

The mangled, rubber hand was tucked in his pocket while Syd Safriet of Belleville, Ill., as the company doctor, bandaged his arm.

After the battle, another soldier's leg was amputated back at the camp while about 10 people watched.

"Amputation was the treatment of choice," Safriet told the group. "They would just cut off the leg or arm, especially out in the field."

Safriet then unwrapped the leg of the soldier, portrayed by Sean Hente of Cape Girardeau. "I think you've been cured, soldier," he said.

Hente then walked away, saying "It's a miracle."

"It's wonderful what modern medicine can do, especially in the 1860s," Safriet said.

He and Hente were part of a 20-man re-enactment group from the Seventh Kentucky Company C unit which set up camp outside New Hanover Village in the Black Forest during the Spring Craftsfest.

The Craftsfest includes wood carving, leathersmithing and blacksmithing demonstrations. Villages open at 9 a.m. today with a Civil War church service at 10:30 a.m. and drills and battles planned throughout the afternoon.

The Craftsfest is often a favorite stop along the route of the Mississippi River Valley Scenic Drive. About 1,000 people visited the 1860s-replica villages Saturday.

The scenic drive continues today with a 150-mile self-directed tour through Uniontown, Altenburg, Marble Hill and Oak Ridge.

None of the towns are tourist destinations by themselves, but collectively they have a lot to offer, said Dr. Frank Nickell, director of the Center for Regional History at Southeast Missouri State University. The two-day drive is sponsored by the center.

"It's a chance for people to see the back roads," Nickell said, adding that there's no one place to check-in on the route.

The route begins to the north in Perryville, at Marble Hill in the west and Cape Girardeau in the south. A counter at Burfordville marks an approximate number of drivers along the roads.

Some of the stops include German settlements in Altenburg and Wittenberg, handmade quilts at the Apple Creek Church in Pocahontas, Bollinger Mill in Burfordville, the Personal Touch boutique and Lizard Lick Diner in Oak Ridge.

Each stop has something different to offer and adds to the historic and scenic beauty of Southeast Missouri, Nickell said.

For more information about the driving tour, call the Center for Regional History at 1-800-777-0068 or 651-2555.